Family victim of 'swatting' hoax

A Sydney teenager arrested after a bogus report about a shooting triggered an emergency police operation has claimed his laptop was hacked and he is the victim of an online hoax.

Police descended on the Arncliffe home just after 4.40am on Wednesday after emergency services received a report that the 18-year-old had tied up his father and a friend and was planning to shoot them because they had sexually assaulted his mother.

On arriving, police established a perimeter around Bonar Street and started speaking to the teenager inside the house. He surrendered without incident and was arrested.

No one was injured and a during a search of the house police said they found no evidence to support any of the initial claims made to emergency services.

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It is understood that the fake report about the hostage situation was made online.

The teenager's mother claimed that his laptop was hacked and that he had told her he was the victim of "swatting".

Swatting is a prank where a fake report of an ongoing incident is made to emergency services, with the intention of getting crews dispatched to the scene.

Many celebrities have been the target of swatting pranks, including Justin Timberlake, Tom Cruise, Justin Bieber and Rihanna

In the US, the calls about fake bombs, gunmen or hostage situations have resulted in a heavily armed response from police SWAT teams.

Police have confirmed they are examining a computer found at the house.

The 18-year-old has been taken to St George Police Station where he is being questioned.

A neighbour, Ray Anderson, said he woke to find news crews and about 20 police in his street.

He described the teenager as as "nice lad".

"Until the police arrived there was nothing happening, everything was silent. I was sound asleep. Then there was a big light put on the street and that's what woke me up," Mr Anderson said.